An oil-patch city where energy employment shapes the electoral middle
Hobbs anchors Lea County's Permian Basin economy, and its modest Democratic lean in 2024 reflects a Latino-majority workforce whose voting patterns have shifted noticeably rightward over the past two cycles even as the margin held blue.
| Group | Hobbs, NM | National |
|---|---|---|
▶Hispanic / Latino(7) | 52.4% | 19.3% |
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 41.3% | 57.4% |
▶Black / African American(7) | 4.0% | 12.2% |
Multiracial / Other | 1.0% | 4.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(4) | 0.9% | 0.9% |
▶Asian(4) | 0.5% | 6.0% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -8.8pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.9% | 45.2% | — | — | |
| 18.9% | 40.8% | — | — | |
| 3.0% | 6.5% | — | — | |
| 1.8% | 3.9% | — | — | |
| 1.7% | 3.6% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 1.3% | 2.9% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 53.6% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Hobbs, NM metro area? 256,232 residents across 4 counties.
13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 20pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+28 on average nationally.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+61.6 | R+55.3 | 6.3pp |